Notes from Underground – Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Rating: 3/5

Lost References:

Ilana has a Cyrillic edition of this book; Hurley finds it after her death. Thematically, it’s about suffering, and it touches on the free will vs. predestination debate. Also, the philosopher Rousseau is referenced (the one Lost’s French woman is named after).

Thoughts:

I’ve read some of Dostoyevsky’s short stories before, but remember enjoying them more than this novella. (I’m afraid I’m just not a fan of existentialism.) As in Notes, he sketched characters so vividly and realistically (flaws and all) that I have to admire him for that. Also as in Notes, he doesn’t always trouble himself with much plot, but that’s easier to get away with in a short story. Here, the first half of the book was taken up with a philosophical essay, and even after that was over, the narrator still did a lot of musing. I think I’ll take a break from Dostoyevsky before diving into The Brothers Karamazov, though I hear it has more of a story line.